STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 Specific to Contemporary World History, students should be able to:

 I.     Demonstrate understanding of the meaning of “world history”

 II.    Describe common phenomena among cultures

 III.     Compare and contrast cultures and nation-states

 IV.      Examine differing historical interpretations and the consequences of those interpretations (e.g. differing European and African concepts of the colonial experience)

 V.     Examine the impact of science and technology in the twentieth century

 VI.    Examine the impact of rapid change and revolution on traditional non-Western civilizations

 VII.   Examine how the devastating wars and revolutions of the 20th century have resulted in new concerns and standards for human rights

 VIII.     Demonstrate understanding of the impact of human actions on the global ecosystem and the implications of that impact of the future of Earth

 IX.    Four general goals integrate history with workplace skills:

       A.      Acquire information from many sources

       B.      Break complex and multiple sources of information down into parts to create clearer understanding

       C.      Understand the impact of time and space on perspective

       D.      Develop narrative structures and arguments based on evidence

 XII.     Throughout the course, students should be introduced to course content, practice using course content, and demonstrate they can:

       A.        Describe how peoples, groups, cultures, and institutions covered in this course change over time

       B.        Understand the events covered in the course in historical context and recognize how social, cultural, gender, race, religion, nationality and other identities affect historical perspective

       C.        Communicate orally and in writing about the subject of the course and select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve problems and compile information

       D.        Use different resources for historical research, including libraries, databases, bibliographies and archives

       E.         Analyze secondary sources and recognize differences in historical interpretation

       F.         Identify types of primary sources, the point of view and purpose of their author or creator

       G.        Create substantive writing samples which employ critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, and document those sources correctly

       H.        Construct knowledge in the discipline and synthesize historical narratives and timelines from primary and secondary sources, maps, and/or artifacts and critically analyze, interpret and evaluate many different points of view to construct historical arguments.

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I.      Overview of the 20th Century

 II.     European Crisis

         A.      World War I -- the Decline of European Ascendancy

         B.      Social and Political Restructuring

         C.      Economic Crisis

         D.      Political and Social Upheaval: (Authoritarian movements)

         E.      Intellectual and Artistic Life

 III.    The Struggle Against Colonialism

         A.      Latin America

         B.      Sub-Sahara Africa

         C.      Asia

 IV.     Superpower Rivalry and the Post-Cold World

         A.      World War II & the Crisis of European Dominance

         B.      Restructuring International Relations

         C.      Post-Industrial Society

         D.      The Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Collapse of Communism

 V.      Independence Movements in the Developing World

         A.      Latin America

         B.      Sub-Sahara Africa

         C.      The Middle East and North Africa

         D.      Asia

 VI.     The Contemporary World

         A.      The Legacy of the Twentieth Century

         B.      Toward the twenty-first Century